To keep completely dry, you'll need to have something to keep water running down your neck and under the cycling jacket. A buff that overlaps the tightly tied collar can be an good conduit to keep the water out of your jacket. Also need some decent overboots, and plugs or silicone sealant in any holes in your cycling boots.

Cheers

WombatK

Somebody has to do something, and it's just incredibly pathetic that it has to be us -Jerry Garcia

I figure that I am going to get wet irrespective of what I do, so I minimise the amount of cycling gear I use. No gloves, knick shorts (Cell ones as the chamois is thin), jersey and a light, hi-vis jacket and carry a spare pair of socks in my pack.

goneriding wrote:I figure that I am going to get wet irrespective of what I do, so I minimise the amount of cycling gear I use. No gloves, knick shorts (Cell ones as the chamois is thin), jersey and a light, hi-vis jacket and carry a spare pair of socks in my pack.

goneriding wrote:I figure that I am going to get wet irrespective of what I do, so I minimise the amount of cycling gear I use. No gloves, knick shorts (Cell ones as the chamois is thin), jersey and a light, hi-vis jacket and carry a spare pair of socks in my pack.

+1 to this. When it rains, you get wet. Things that will dry quickly while at work are the way to go. Spare clothes in panniers.

+1 on the cape, especially in summer rain it means you don't sweat as much as a jacket. Speed is not a factor unless you have long stretches of road which are open to wind - my typical 6km commute in inner sydney involves about 20 intersections and only one 2km stretch where I don't have to stop.

It takes more time to bring a change of clothes, undress, shower and get changed than you lose through more air resistance on most typical commutes. I would struggle to get over an average of 20km/h door to door because of stop start traffic.

Oh yes and mudguards are a must... keeps you dry, keeps your bike cleaner (less maintenance) and not only when it's raining - the road is quite often wet or dirty many other times.

I ain't wearing a pair of Wellies whilst riding the bike (!!!!). What are they thinking?

So I am thinking Little Red Riding Hood not Lighthouse Keeper. Stylish not frumpy, and not a target for motorists who just want to throw eggs at me. Also combining 21st century technology but doesn't make me look Victorian!

Those capes are really not cycle capes. They will be rather flappy as they aren't long enough in the front to hold on the bars and probably don't have thumb loops - loops to hook over the brake levers (ideally) or hold with thumbs. And buttons down the front are not such a great idea. Leaks galore.

Sadly cycle raincapes are not too stylish when off the bike as they are cut quite long in the font, to give best coverage for your legs

As a result they tend to dangle somewhere around your knees when walking

After finding there was no way to keep shoes dry I hit upon the idea of wearing reef shoes on very wet days. Basically wetsuit material with rubber soles to stop sharp reef (or pedals) hurting soles of feet.

As an ambling commuter I've never used clip-in shoes, and I hated putting wet running shoes back on for the ride home, plus they would smell terrible when wet.

For the fashion conscious you can get some pretty nice looking ones, and leave people wondering which bike shop you got such futuristic looking shoes from....

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